Top Tips: Prepare your building for winter

It's time to perform building maintenance checks as winter draws near and the days grow cooler. 

This National Maintenance Week (11-17 November), our team is happy to offer a few key tips to help traditional and heritage building owners and churchwardens prepare their premises for winter.

By ensuring that traditional buildings are in good repair, we can extend their useful life.

This approach will mitigate the carbon emissions and waste associated with the demolition of an existing structure and the construction of a new one.

 Maintaining and repairing all buildings is essential and, in traditional buildings, keeping roofs and gutters in good order helps to keep masonry dry.

Learn how your building works: To maintain and improve your heritage building, you need to understand how it works. To do this, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the materials it is constructed from and how they function.

This could include understanding the way warm, moist air moves throughout a building by ventilation, or how lime-based mortar allows external water to evaporate from building fabric will allow you to choose the correct methods and materials, whether you are repairing or insulating your premises.

Take the time to inspect your building: It is very important to undertake regular inspections in different kinds of weather. This makes it easier to spot problems as soon as they develop, which means they will be cheaper to address.

Check for discoloration on walls, which can be a sign of a building defect such as a blocked gutter or downpipe. Water forming puddles externally after heavy rainfall could be a sign of poorly performing drainage. Condensation forming on the inside of windows can show issues around moisture management internally.

Clear gutters and drains: Surface drains should be free of debris and natural waste such as leaves or bird feathers, allowing rainwater to flow away from the building.

Look for blocked downpipes (best done during heavy rain to see water coming from any leaky joints – in dry weather look for stained brickwork). Remove potentially damaging vegetation from behind downpipes by cutting back or removing the plant altogether. If your gutters are sloping the wrong way or discharging water onto your walls, they should be repaired.

Learn how to spot and reduce condensation:  Condensation can be a problem in homes and heritage buildings over the winter. In some cases, this can lead to mould, which in turn can have consequences for our health. By regularly inspecting your premises, you can spot signs of condensation-related dampness. Condensation can occur in unseen areas, such as behind furniture or under roofs.

Draught-proof your building:

There is a common misconception that older buildings are draughty, but this is not true.

Traditional buildings were constructed with good ventilation which helps keep the building in good condition. However, if there is airflow that was not designed into the building, this can be considered a draught, and action should be taken to correct it.

Draughts near windows or doors may indicate issues with the surrounding timber or window fitting. There must be a careful balance between reducing draughts and ensuring adequate ventilation.

Curtains and secondary glazing can be added to windows for a cost-effective way of increasing your heat retention. If your building has an unused chimney, draughts can be reduced with a chimney balloon or hearth board. Retaining ventilation to ensure the flue is ventilated is important.

Knowing where to start can be a daunting task, however, every small measure can make a lasting impact. 

Why not get in touch with our technical team for further support?

USL offers restoration, emergency, reactive and maintenance services for all requirements. Our Special Works team are equally engaged in both preventative and reactive projects that may require urgent response.  The assigned team will ensure a swift and successful delivery across a wide range of heritage specialisms from roofing, timbers, stonework, brickwork, glazing, leadwork, drainage and rainwater goods.

01245 326 721 USLenquiries@universalstone.co.uk